Friday, August 5, 2011

Z-Burger in the Tivoli opening "Summer 2011"

Just got a heads-up from a reader: the Z-Burger that's coming to the Tivoli building has a sign up that reads "opening Summer 2011." Considering summer is winding down and the last time I looked in it seemed pretty far along, I'm guessing we'll have some burgers pretty soon.

The last I heard was that the space, which used to be Nori and before that Mayorga, was getting split in two, with retail (i.e. restaurant) downstairs and offices upstairs. Probably a good thing, as it's kind of an awkward space. Let's hope Z-Burger lasts longer than the previous two tenants. Not sure what the other space is going to be, aside from office use.

Z-Burger is a local chain, and I've never been. Anybody like it? How is it compared to Five Guys?

They serve my favorite veggie burger in D.C.; it's made with black beans. The fries aren't bad and I like their shakes, too. Do we know if this one will have shakes, though? Glover doesn't, Tenley does. I like it more than Five Guys and have heard the same good things about the onion rings.

In many ways, Z-Burger seems like a deliberate attempt to copy the Five Guys' model: big, sloppy burgers with lots of optional add-ons, huge servings of fries w/ or w/o "cajun" style seasoning. If you like Five Guys, you'll like Z-Burger, and if not then you'll hate this place, too. In my opinion, the best thing about Z-Burger are its milkshakes (Amaretto....mmmm....), however only one of its two locations on Wisconsin serves them, so I guess we'll have to wait and see if they'll have them at this new location.